


Shelter

by likebunnies



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Cold Weather, F/M, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Partners to Lovers, Smut, Tropes, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:16:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5404418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebunnies/pseuds/likebunnies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caught in a sudden winter storm, Abbie and Ichabod must figure out how to survive the night together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like being all trope-y and write a cliche -- stuck in the cold in a small space where they have to keep warm! Next up... one bed in the last hotel room?

“Lieutenant, I think I see suitable shelter over there. We ought to be able to wait out the storm if we can get to it,” Crane called out over the wind, reaching for Abbie's gloved hand and leading her in the right direction. When they got there, Abbie realized it wasn't much of a shelter. It looked more like a hunter's abandoned lean-to but they had to find some protection from the elements and the night was setting in fast.

“Crane, I'm going to freeze to death in there and don't even start with me about Valley Forge. If you remember correctly, I wasn't the one to survive Valley Forge because I wasn't there,” Abbie said, stopping his usual go-to story about the blizzards and the cold. 

“I would have surely remembered it if you had been there, Miss Mills,” Crane said, sinking to his knees and clearing out whatever snow had fallen inside of the remains of the structure. She watched him as he stood and set about putting down pine branches to protect them from the frozen ground. Abbie checked her phone one more time. Still no service and no idea where she was. Except here with him. “Now climb inside and I'll fortify the exterior so we can both survive this blizzard.” 

She did crawl in under the logs and on top of the pine boughs and hugged her knees for warmth as he continued piling more branches on the outside. It was beginning to prevent the wind from whipping around her face and she wondered how cold he had to be by now and how cold he was when he had learned to do this. It was one of those moments when she remembered he truly was from a different time and had already lived a life before her. 

He crawled in behind her, covering the entrance with more branches before he sat beside her, shivering and mumbling something about needing an oilcloth to truly block out the wind. Abbie shined her flashlight at his face, which was now flushed from the cold. At least he had the sense to finally wear a heavy wool overcoat, hat, gloves, and a thick scarf. How many winters had he been here already? He pushed his scarf down from his face and his breath came out as a white puff of air. 

“Perhaps today wasn't the best day to go looking for that demon in the woods,” Abbie said, pursing her lips as he returned the look with an arched eyebrow. Surely he was going to take responsibility for this. 

“I recall you checking the Weather Channel and declaring that it would be a perfectly lovely day for this,” he said with a huff. “Like they can predict the weather any better now than they could in my day.”

“We do have things like radars now. And dopplers. And... and... things,” Abbie said. She was cold and really didn't feel like fighting with him about whose fault this was. She just wanted to get warm. She turned off the flashlight and rubbed her gloved hands together again, puffing air into them. It was going to take more than that. 

“We are going to have to get closer if we are going to stay warm through the night,” Crane said. Abbie knew it was true but rolled her eyes at him anyway. 

“I've heard that one before,” she said. He turned toward her and sighed. 

“Do you feel I've manipulated this entire situation just to get you alone in a small space where we both might die of exposure? After all these years, surely you know me better than that. Have I ever used a moment like this to make an untoward advance before?” he asked. 

“No, you haven't,” she admitted. That would keep him happy for a while but something about the whole thing wasn't making her happy. “And why is that, Crane?” 

He didn't answer. Instead he slipped out of his heavy overcoat and pulled her close, putting it over both of them so their shared body heat wouldn't escape. He was resting against a large tree and she had her head on his shoulder, feeling him breathe beneath her cheek. 

“If you would like to sleep, Lieutenant, go ahead and do so. I shall stay awake and take the first watch,” Crane said, still not answering her question. His damn manners would make it that he never would. Not unless... she didn't even know what would drive him to it. Drive him to not be Captain Crane and just be... Ichabod. Normal man with a woman stuck in a tiny shelter. 

“Watch against what?” she asked, dismissing her thoughts about their relationship. Surely any demon would have more sense than them and stay in on a night like this. 

“One of us should stay awake to make sure we don't suffer from exposure while we're sleeping and to make sure this structure stays up in the wind,” he said. Abbie considered it. She really was tired and the warmth radiating from his body wasn't helping any. 

“No, that's okay. I'll stay awake with you, Crane. You warm enough?” Abbie asked and he replied that he was. “Tell me a story. Something you've never told me before. That will keep me up.”

He told a tale about his youth and his brothers and the first time he saw a real snowfall or at least one he remembered. How Christmas really wasn't like it is today, especially with his family. She listened to his voice until the deep, soft lullaby quality of it finally put her to sleep despite her earlier protests that it wouldn't. 

*^*^*^*^*^*

Abbie woke with a start when a branch fell from the tree and hit the top of their lean-to. It was dark now but she was still in the same spot, curled next to Crane, under the warmth of his jacket. She could hear the wind still howling outside of their emergency shelter and he stretched as much as he could now that she was awake and he wouldn't disturb her slumber. 

“I'm sorry. I was obviously more tired than I thought,” Abbie said, stretching now herself. “You want to take a nap? I promise I won't sleep again.”

“I'm going to have to lie down for a while, to stretch my legs. I can't stay in this position much longer, Lieutenant,” he said, moving his long legs as much as he could, which wasn't very far in their shelter. 

“That's okay. I'll keep watch,” she said, moving from his shoulder. As soon as she moved from under his coat and away from his warmth, she was hit with a wave of impossibly cold air and began shivering.

“Come here. It will not be the first time soldiers in camp during the winter had to conserve body heat this way,” Crane said, stretching out on the ground and motioning for Abbie to settle in front of him. 

“You trying to tell me something, Crane?” Abbie asked as she crawled beside him. 

“Would you prefer to freeze?” 

“No.” 

She pulled his coat over them, her back against his chest, his knees curled into the back of hers perfectly as his arm wrapped around her, a large hand splayed out on her rib cage, fluttering tentatively before he settled his fingers down on her parka. If they had some pillows and weren't in risk of dying of exposure before morning, this would be perfect. 

“You asked me before why I haven't made any untoward advances toward you,” he said. Abbie wasn't expecting that but perhaps the best time to analyze a relationship was when everyone involved was about to freeze to death. 

“I didn't mean anything by it. Listen, Crane, I understand. You were married for a few centuries and you just want to date some women and have fun. I'm not exactly fun... well, not in my Witness capacity, because believe you me, I can be a lot of fun in other capacities,” she said, stopping herself when she realized she was babbling. 

“You are and always will be the best thing to ever happen to me,” he said as soon as she stopped talking. He pulled her a little closer but did nothing else. Said nothing else. She stayed just like that, motionless until she could tell he was sleeping. 

*^*^*^*^*^*

Abbie fell asleep again even though she promised she wouldn't. When she awoke, Crane was still asleep behind her, his arm resting gently over her and his breathing steady. Cold air was forming between them and she scooted back to fill the gap and... yeah. Well, it was normal, right? He was asleep. It meant nothing. Just a thing with men. No big deal. She moved back a little further, feeling the length of his body against hers. Maybe it was a big deal. 

She was embarrassed by what she was doing. It wasn't right, especially since he was asleep. Except... his breathing changed. And his hand on her lower abdomen was tugging her closer. He was most definitely awake. His hand moved even lower, pressing between her thighs and she gasped. Even with his gloves and through her jeans, his touch set off a spark in her and her gasp turned into a moan. Was this really happening? Here? This is where he was going to forget who he was and be whom she needed? Or needed right now?

He was straining behind her, rubbing his cock against her ass through all of their clothes. Once again, she had to ask... here? When they had two perfectly good beds at home and had lived together for months now? 

She turned her head enough for him to kiss her. She at least needed that before they fucked in the forest. Something inside her knew it was more than just fucking with him but there was still going to be kissing. And was there ever kissing. 

Both of their faces and lips were cold at first but didn't stay that way for long. He kissed her with a reverence she hadn't felt in a long time while his fingers still worked at her clit through her jeans, the denim moving against her through her silky panties. Of course had she known how they were really going to spend the night, there would be no panties. No, there would be thermal underwear. He should consider himself lucky. 

“Abbie,” he said, his voice deep and husky with desire. “Is this untoward enough?” 

“God yes,” she said, kissing him again. They were going to have to figure out how to do this while taking off the least amount of clothing. That could wait until tomorrow, when they were home and in one of those two beds. Or both of them. One after the other.

She could feel him pulling off a glove and unbuttoning the front of his breeches as she wiggled her jeans and panties down over her hips and thighs just enough so he could get his cock inside of her. It was cold but she would just have to endure. She needed him in her desperately. 

Abbie tilted her hips just right and he guided himself in, so incredibly hot where his bare skin touched hers. His gloveless hand reached around and stroked her clit as he thrust in and out of her body. How long had it been since she had sex? A couple of months at most. She had no clue how long it had been for him and didn't want to know but this was not how she imagined their first time. All fast and breathless in the woods was not usually her thing. But with him, anyway he wanted it could quickly become her thing. 

He filled her completely, arching his hips so he'd hit her inside at just the perfect angle. That combined with what he was doing with his long fingers made her cry out into the frozen night, sounding as feral as anything would that lived outside their shelter. The cold air and the heat of him was a perfect combination and she was writhing against him, their bodies moving together in perfect unison, him thrusting faster right when she needed it. She slammed back against his cock and he groaned and lost a little bit of rhythm in his movements and she knew he had to be close. She wanted nothing more than to see his face when he came but it was too dark in here anyway and she had lost track of the little flashlight. And there was no way she was taking her jeans any further off. 

“Abbie... stop. I'm... just please,” he said imploringly and she stopped moving her hips. He slowed down, too, except for his fingers, and soon she was coming hard, her inner muscles pulsating around him. The darkness was filled with a blinding light and before she could recover from her first orgasm, he was trying to make her to come again. That was more than she could take yet and she used her hands to push his away. He grabbed both her wrists, holding her still, as he thrust into her again and again. 

He still held onto her as he came, groaning into the darkness as he slid into her as deeply as he could go. Abbie pushed back, tightening around him until he was spent. Only then did he free her wrists, his arm now wrapped around her with his hand moving to her clit once more. It wasn't long before she was coming again and cursing his name. When he finally slipped out of her, she tugged up her jeans and turned to face him. He gasped when her jeans brushed up against his sensitive cock and she backed away just enough so he could collect himself and fasten his breeches again. The air smelled like pine branches and falling snow and hot sex and... them. She didn't know what to say exactly and he didn't seem to, either. That was a first. 

Crane pulled her into a warm embrace and rearranged his coat over them for warmth, kissing her tenderly. Their shelter was pleasantly warm at the moment but it wasn't going to stay that way for long. The wind was picking up again and they really should have started a fire outside the entrance. Abbie simultaneously hoped it would be morning soon and that this first night with him would never end. 

“So that really is how you all stayed warm at Valley Forge?” she asked and he laughed. An honest to goodness laugh that she hadn't heard from him in a long, long time. 

“You'll never know,” he said, kissing her again. 

*^*^*^*^*^*

In the morning, Abbie slowly woke up from the most delightful dreams alone in the lean-to. Crane's overcoat was still keeping her warm but he was gone. She sat up with a start, looking around. “Crane?” she called out and heard his boots crunching through the snow in a matter of seconds. 

“I'm here,” he said, crawling back into their little shelter. “I was trying to determine how far off the path we were when the blizzard started and how far it was back to the highway.”

“And what did you find out?” Abbie asked. She scooted around so he could sit next to her and warm up under his coat again. 

“The main road is approximately 35 feet in that direction,” he said, pointing west. 

“Thirty-five feet?” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“We could have hiked out of here last night had we just gone another 35 feet?” 

“I'd like to remind you that we were lost in the woods last night, the sun was setting fast, and the snow was blinding. I'd also like to remind you, Lieutenant, that last night was perhaps one of the best nights I've had in years. At least since sometime in 1781,” he said. That answered that question for her. 

“It was a pretty good night,” she said, smiling coyly at him. 

“But that being said, I really wouldn't mind getting home to where it's warm,” he said. 

“It is that,” Abbie added, nodding. 

“And there are beds,” he said, his eyebrow becoming all flirtatious. 

“Two of them. With plenty of room to do a lot of things. And blankets and hot chocolate. Oh, and warm flannel pajamas for later,” she said. 

“I'm not sure how necessary those will be but I do like your thinking,” he said, taking her gloved hand in his. “Are you ready to get out of here, Lieutenant?”

“I thought you'd never ask.”

*^*^*^*^*^*

The End


End file.
